MLB releases 2017 Padres schedule

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres will open the 2017 season on the road at Dodger Stadium on Monday, April 3.

MLB released its master 2017 regular-season schedule on Wednesday.

The club will host the San Francisco Giants for the home opener at Petco Park on Friday, April 7 at 3:40 p.m., as part of a three-game series to open the 2017 home schedule.

Interleague play will bring American League Central opponents to San Diego. The Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins all will make the trip to America’s Finest City. This will mark the third appearance at Petco Park for the Tigers and Twins, and the fourth for the Royals.

The Padres will split a four-game home-and-home series against the Texas Rangers, the third visit to Petco for the Rangers. For interleague road contests, the Padres will visit Minnesota’s Target Field for the third time in franchise history. The club will also make trips to Chicago to take on the White Sox and Cleveland, both locations they last visited during the 2014 season.

The Padres will wrap up the 2017 home regular season in September with a six-game homestand featuring the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.

Start times for home games will mostly remain the same. The majority of weekday games will begin at 7:10 p.m., with the exception of a handful of 12:40 p.m. and 6:10 p.m. getaway day starts. Friday home games will return to a 7:10 p.m. start time in 2017. The majority of Saturday games will begin at 5:40 p.m., though some will start at 7:10 p.m. due to Major League Baseball broadcasting restrictions. The 1:40 p.m. start time for Sunday home games will continue in 2017. Five home start times will be announced at a later date.